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The M18A1 Claymore's curved casing is packed with a pound and a half of powerful explosives. The side facing the enemy is lined with 700 steel ball bearings, so when the mine explodes, the ball bearings simultaneously burst out of the casing. The mine is triggered by an electric detonator. When the mine is planted, it reacts to anything that comes close and automatically explodes.

Claymore mines are used for ambushing an enemy without exposing the explosive itself to the enemy. Because they can be difficult to detect, sensors have to be used in order to avoid them.

Claymore mines were utilized in Tselinoyarsk in the early 1960s, and were encountered by Naked Snake during Operation Snake Eater. They were speculated to have either been stolen or recovered by the Soviets from a battlefield in Southeast Asia, and then commenced performance evaluations on them. Some of the Claymores were also modified to include a proximity sensor that would detonate when an enemy approached it at a certain distance. Sigint correctly predicted that the Soviets would eventually copy the Claymore's simple structure, resulting in the Russian Claymorasky mines. They each weighed 1.6kg.﻿

During the San Hieronymo Incident in 1970, FOX commander Gene's renegade army secretly planted Claymore mines throughout the hospital area, which would have caused a devastating hazard to the hospital staff, who were not informed of the incident, had Naked Snake's resistance goup not discovered and disarmed all of them.

The Claymore mines used during the Shadow Moses and Big Shell Incidents were enhanced with built-in stealth camouflage, and utilized a short ranged 90º laser sight to trigger the detonation. During the former, they were laid in the canyon between the tank hangar and warhead storage building, and in the underground passage leading to the communication towers.

"An American-made anti-personnel directional mine. Modified by Soviet technicians to automatically detonate when it detects a moving object within the trigger areas to its front and rear."

―Claymore description in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

"An anti-personnel mine consisting of explosives and 700 steel ball bearings contained within a gently curving plastic case.When an object passes in front of it, it detonates and propels the ball bearings forward in a wedge-shaped pattern, wounding or killing the enemy."

Mine detectors are obviously useful for locating them. Early versions of this sensor would vibrate as the player got closer to a mine. Later versions would display the location of mines on the Soliton Radar. The first in-game appearance of the mine detector, in Metal Gear, actually revealed the mines on-screen.

Crawling over a mine will allow Snake to pick it up safely.

Unlike previous games, Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4 feature Claymore mines that can be seen with the naked eye, though they can still be difficult to spot.

In Metal Gear Solid 4, the Metal Gear Mk. II/III can be used to scout ahead for mines. These can then be disarmed by pressing the ▲ (Triangle) button.

In Metal Gear Solid 4, if a Claymore is pointed at a wall, it will make five holes in the wall after exploding.

Although it was called a Claymore in Metal Gear Solid 3, the actual design indicated that it was the MON-50 anti-personnel mine.

"An anti-personnel mine that focuses its blast in a specific directon. Upon detonation, it sprays 700 steel balls in a 60-degree arc, Although developed for anti-personnel use, it is also effective against vehicles.The Claymore is extremely powerful and simple to use, but be very careful not to set it off yourself. The results could be too horrible to watch."